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Atchison County, Kansas
|coordinates = }} Atchison County (county code AT) is a county located in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 16,924. Its county seat and most populous city is Atchison. The county is named in honor of David Rice Atchison, a United States Senator from Missouri. History Early history For many millennia, the Great Plains of North America was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, the Kingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the French and Indian War, France secretly ceded New France to Spain, per the Treaty of Fontainebleau. 19th century In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, but keeping title to about 7,500 square miles. In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile Louisiana Purchase for 2.83 cents per acre. In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state. In 1855, Atchison County was established. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.6%) is water. It is the fourth-smallest county by area in Kansas. On July 4, 1804, to mark Independence Day, the Lewis and Clark Expedition named Independence Creek (River) located near the city of Atchison (see Timeline of the Lewis and Clark Expedition). Adjacent counties * Doniphan County (north) * Buchanan County, Missouri (northeast) * Leavenworth County (southeast) * Platte County, Missouri (east) * Jefferson County (south) * Jackson County (west) * Brown County (northwest) Major highways Sources: National Atlas,National Atlas U.S. Census BureauU.S. Census Bureau TIGER shape files * U.S. Route 59 * U.S. Route 73 * U.S. Route 159 * Kansas Highway 7 * Kansas Highway 9 * Kansas Highway 116 Demographics |align-fn=center |footnote=U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2016 }} ]] Atchison County comprises the Atchison, KS Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, there were 16,774 people, 6,275 households, and 4,279 families residing in the county. The population density was 39 people per square mile (15/km²). There were 6,818 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.62% White, 5.32% Black or African American, 0.55% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.51% from other races, and 1.59% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.95% of the population. There were 6,275 households out of which 32.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.30% were married couples living together, 10.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.80% were non-families. 27.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.05. In the county, the population was spread out with 26.70% under the age of 18, 11.30% from 18 to 24, 24.50% from 25 to 44, 21.40% from 45 to 64, and 16.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.30 males. The median income for a household in the county was $34,355, and the median income for a family was $40,614. Males had a median income of $29,481 versus $20,485 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,207. About 7.90% of families and 13.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.80% of those under age 18 and 17.90% of those age 65 or over. Law and government Atchison County was a prohibition, or "dry", county until the Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 and voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30% food sales requirement. Education Unified school districts * Atchison County Community USD 377 (Web site) * Atchison USD 409 (Web site) Communities Map of Atchison County (map legend)]] Cities *Atchison *Effingham *Huron *Lancaster *Muscotah Unincorporated communities *Arrington *Cummings *Curlew *Eden *Farmington *Good Intent *Hawthorn *Kennekuk *Larkinburg *Monrovia *Mount Pleasant *Oak Mills *Pardee *Parnell *Port William *Potter *St. Pats *Shannon *Sumner Townships Atchison County is divided into eight townships. The city of Atchison is considered governmentally independent and is excluded from the census figures for the townships. In the following table, the population center is the largest city (or cities) included in that township's population total, if it is of a significant size. } |- | Center || 11550 || || 676 || 5 (13) || 139 (54) || 0 (0) || 0.15% || |- | Grasshopper || 28225 || Muscotah || 588 || 3 (9) || 170 (66) || 1 (0) || 0.52% || |- | Kapioma || 36100 || || 271 || 2 (6) || 123 (48) || 0 (0) || 0.05% || |- | Lancaster || 38350 || Lancaster || 922 || 6 (15) || 156 (60) || 0 (0) || 0.28% || |- | Mount Pleasant || 48925 || || 829 || 7 (17) || 124 (48) || 0 (0) || 0.09% || |- | Shannon || 64275 || || 1,753 || 12 (32) || 140 (54) || 2 (1) || 1.16% || |- | Walnut || 74800 || || 427 || 5 (12) || 94 (36) || 2 (1) || 2.34% || |- |colspan=9|Sources: |} See also * National Register of Historic Places listings in Atchison County, Kansas References Further reading * History of the State of Kansas; William G. Cutler; A.T. Andreas Publisher; 1883. (Online HTML eBook) * Kansas : A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc; 3 Volumes; Frank W. Blackmar; Standard Publishing Co; 944 / 955 / 824 pages; 1912. (Volume1 - Download 54MB PDF eBook),(Volume2 - Download 53MB PDF eBook), (Volume3 - Download 33MB PDF eBook) External links ;Official sites * * Atchison County - Directory of Public Officials * Atchison County - Chamber of Commerce ;Historical * Atchison County - History, Kansas State Historical Society * Atchison County - Historical Society ;Maps * Atchison County Maps: Current, Historic, KDOT * Kansas Highway Maps: Current, Historic, KDOT * Kansas Railroad Maps: Current, 1996, 1915, KDOT and Kansas Historical Society Category:Atchison County, Kansas Category:1855 establishments in Kansas Territory Category:Kansas counties on the Missouri River